Today in Guyana we celebrate Dewali (or Deepavali), the Hindu festival of lights. Tim and I celebrated with our friends and neighbors at the house of one of the few Hindu families in Linden (a predominantly Afro-Guyanese and Christian community). On Diwali, to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, we made and lit hundreds of diyas (tiny clay pots filled with coconut oil and wicks) and helped place them around our friend's house. It was beautiful! Then we ate delicious vegetarian food; puri, channa, pahlari, potato curry, sweet rice, and of course the ever popular parsad (a too-sweet, doughy treat that most Guyanese I know pretend to love but then foist off on unsuspecting gringos like us).We were very appreciative tobe included in the ritual of Diwali. As Tim and I stood looking at the diyas we were reminded how important it is to remember that the good in the world will always triumph over evil with the help and support of your friends and neighbors. Oh and it also helps to have a little monkey god friend on your side too....
Happy Diwali everyone!
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